Man charged after alleged assault on girlfriend, officers

LORAIN — Police said a man who showed up drunk at his girlfriend’s apartment on Friday allegedly punched her, pushed her teenage daughter and grabbed a kitchen knife before officers showed up and wrestled him into handcuffs.

Maurice Taylor, 37, was charged with resisting arrest and two counts of assault about 10:30 p.m. Friday at his girlfriend’s house on the 2100 block of Reeves Avenue.

Taylor’s girlfriend, Yamini Mckenzie, 37, told police she was at home when Taylor showed up, drunk and ready to go with her to the bar. Mckenzie told Taylor he was too drunk to join her, and Taylor picked up her car keys and headed to the driveway to unlock her car, according to the report.

Mckenzie told police that Harry Jackson, a friend of hers who was in the apartment at the time, and her 18-year-old daughter, Briana Ruiz, both ran outside to keep Taylor from leaving. While outside, Taylor punched Jackson and pushed Ruiz to the ground before falling on top of her, according to police.

When Mckenzie ran to help her daughter, Taylor stood up and hit her in the chest and went back into the apartment where he grabbed a kitchen knife from a drawer, according to police.

Nathaniel Carter, who was near the kitchen during the incident, told police he saw Taylor holding a knife, grabbed Taylor by his feet, pulled him to the ground and grabbed the weapon from Taylor’s hands.

Police came to the apartment and found Taylor in the kitchen. He initially obeyed police orders when they yelled at him to come out of the kitchen but instead of showing police his hands, he kept them in his pockets and started to walk backwards into the kitchen again, according to the report.

Police, thinking Taylor was going to grab a knife, released a Taser, which hit him in the stomach but had no effect because of his winter coat, according to the report.

Instead, police grabbed Taylor by his arms, handcuffed him and tried to walk him outside, according to the report. Police said Taylor continued to fight, even attempting to head butt an officer before being put into a patrol car where Taylor yelled, “My girl will go the bar when I say she can go to the bar,” according to the report.

Taylor was taken to Lorain City Jail where he was held until being released on bond on Monday. His next hearing is at 1 p.m. April 16 in Lorain Municipal Court.